


Turning Out

by theprodigypenguin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Amortentia, Aroace Pride, Aromantic, Aromantic Charlie Weasley, Asexual Character, Asexual Charlie Weasley, Asexuality, Bill is an awesome big brother, Brotherly Love, Coming Out, Gen, Pride, Sexuality Crisis, Support, aroace, slight internal ace and arophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24822868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprodigypenguin/pseuds/theprodigypenguin
Summary: He was never gonna date Tonks, he knew that for certain, but what about someone else? Charlie went through a list of people he knew from school as he worked on finishing his dinner, but none of them seemed appealing enough to date. Not that they weren’t all wonderful people, Charlie just… didn’t feel that way towards any of them.Sitting there with the prongs of his fork between his lips, he suddenly realized that he’d never felt any sort of budding crush or possible romantic interest towards… anyone. Hell, he wasn’t entirely certain what it would even feel like. Was that normal? Suddenly he felt very self conscious and uncomfortable, and the food didn’t taste as good as it had moments before.Title Song: Turning Out - AJR
Relationships: None
Comments: 29
Kudos: 148





	Turning Out

At fourteen, Charlie Weasley’s most prized possession was a book.  _ The Witch and Wizards Complete Field Guide to Dragons _ , written by esteemed Dragonologist Harvey Ridgebit, with commentary by Newton Artemis Fido Scamander himself. It was a tome thicker than Charlie’s forearm and about as heavy as a standard cauldron, a first edition copy that Bill had bought for him the last time he was in Diagon Alley with their father.

Charlie had no idea where Bill got the money for the extravagant book, because it certainly hadn’t been cheap, but Charlie worshipped it.

Each page was filled with detailed narration of each dragon known to their kind, accompanied by stunning colored illustrations and diagrams of each dragon. Charlie hadn’t put it down once since Bill brought it home for him, and Molly was getting tired of him carrying it around the house all the time. He’d even started falling asleep with it, spread eagle with the book open on his chest because he’d been reading it before bed.

Charlie was beyond grateful to have it. He knew that his minor obsession got a little annoying, especially when he was constantly droning about the creatures. More than once his mother would nag him about it, insisting he stop talking long enough to eat, because he was a growing boy. She’d gone mad when he tried to eat and talk at the same time, choking on the boiled potatoes and nearly turning blue in the face.

Bill was a little more lax when it came to Charlie’s ranting, enough that he did everything he could to support and nurture Charlie’s interest. That had to be why he bought the book, because he knew it would inspire and delight his younger brother.

Charlie would be starting his fifth year at Hogwarts, and he already had aspirations to become a Dragonologist. Bill, who was going into his seventh year, knew this better than anyone. Considering they shared a room during the summer months, he’d gotten used to the daydreams and dragon posters.

“Bill, did you know the Common Welsh Green is considered one of the calmest breeds? They generally avoid human contact altogether and usually only prey on sheep. Which is different from the Hebridean Black, which is more aggressive.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Bill stated from where he was sitting at his desk in their bedroom.

He’d been bent over scrolls and texts all day studying for his NEWTs. Charlie thought it was silly since they still had a week of summer before they returned to school, but if he said that allowed then he’d be nagged about studying for his OWL exams. Bill seemed to have one ear open to Charlie as he continued to chirp out random facts he found interesting, but it wasn’t long before their mother was calling them down for supper. Charlie had the book in his arms when he got off the bed, but Bill reached out to stop him with a hand firmly settling on his head.

“Come on, just one night. It’s not going anywhere.”

Charlie turned his head to meet Bill’s eye. “But what if I forget something and need to look it up?!”

“You? Forget a detail about a dragon?” Bill took the book from Charlie, setting it on the foot of his bed before throwing an arm around Charlie’s shoulders. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

Molly looked pleased when the two oldest boys entered the kitchen without the massive book, and while Charlie’s mind was still stuck on the 1932 Ilfracombe Incident, he didn’t immediately rave about his recent reading. Instead he ate in silence as Bill discussed his NEWTs with Percy, Arthur struggled to keep the twins in their seats, and Molly filled Ginny’s plate while scolding Ron about playing with his food.

“Oh, Charlie, before I forget, we got a letter earlier from Ted Tonks — George sit  _ down  _ in your seat.” Arthur glared at his son until he’d flopped back down.

“I was reaching the chicken!” George squawked, and Arthur picked up the desired bowl before holding it out to George.

“He was asking if you’d like to spend the day with them tomorrow,” he explained as George speared one of the pieces of meat to drag onto his plate. “Something about taking you and Nymphadora to a Muggle street festival. I thought it sounded like a brilliant idea.”

“Really? Can I go?” Charlie leaned forward to look between his father and mother. “Can I?”

“Have you been studying?” Molly asked strictly, and Charlie widened his eyes innocently.

“All day, mum!”

Molly moved her eyes to Bill, who smiled at her. “He has been, I’ve been watching out.”

Charlie felt giddy, reminding himself to thank Bill later. “Plus I got chosen as Prefect this year, remember? That counts for like, two whole weeks of studying! Besides, I haven’t seen Tonks since the train! And it’s almost my birthday!”

“Is not!” Percy quipped from Bill’s other side. “Not till December!”

“Same difference,” Charlie decided, then gave his mother the same innocent, owlish look. “Please, mum?”

“I don’t know…”

“Oh come now, Molly, what’s the harm in letting him go out with his girlfriend?” Arthur asked.

Charlie frowned. “Tonks isn’t my  _ girlfriend,” _ he corrected, and his father gave him an owlish look of his own. “She’s just my mate!”

“Oh, but she’s such a nice girl,” Molly decided to add, as if forgetting what the conversation was originally about. “I think you two would make a sweet couple.”

For some reason the very idea made Charlie pull a face. “We’re  _ friends,  _ mum.”

“Well, girls and boys can’t be friends forever you know,” Molly said a little too cheerfully. “Your father and I were friends for a very long time, and look at us now.”

“Just cuz she’s a girl doesn’t mean I gotta  _ marry  _ her,” Charlie felt defensive and uncomfortable, his brow drawn. “We can be just friends and it’s fine.”

“Oh fine, fine, you say that now,” Molly waved her hand dismissively, but Charlie felt as if she hadn’t actually heard him.

“Mum I don’t even  _ want  _ to date her. She’s my pal!”

“Well, you may change your mind in a few years,” Molly decided for him.

Arthur spoke after her. “Since you’ve been studying, I see no issue with letting you go. We’ll write Ted a quick reply after dinner.”

“They’ll be picking you up around nine tomorrow, so try not to sleep in,” Molly said.

Charlie sank back against his seat, staring blankly at his plate. He wasn’t really sure where that conversation topic had gone, but he didn’t really like it.

Nymphadora Tonks was a Hufflepuff, the same age as Charlie, and played on her house Quidditch team just like Charlie did. She was his best and closest friend at Hogwarts, and had been since their first year. Like Charlie said, she was his mate, his partner in crime. She was fun to be around, had a great sense of humor, and was as chaotic as Charlie, if not more so. In fact compared to Tonks, Charlie was rather mild mannered. He thought that was hilarious, and was always teasing her for being a fixture in detention.

She would get back at him when their houses played against each other, aiming to knock him off his broom just for kicks.

They were close, and Charlie definitely cared about her, but there was nothing even  _ remotely  _ romantic between them. Most people understood that, and Charlie was happy with their dynamic. To be completely honest, Charlie didn’t see  _ anyone  _ at school in a romantic way. He’d never even noticed before, because he was too busy simply enjoying his time there. Now that Molly had brought up the idea, Charlie suddenly couldn’t think of anything else.

He was never gonna date Tonks, he knew that for certain, but what about someone else? Charlie went through a list of people he knew from school as he worked on finishing his dinner, but none of them seemed appealing enough to date. Not that they weren’t all wonderful people, Charlie just… didn’t feel that way towards any of them.

Sitting there with the prongs of his fork between his lips, he suddenly realized that he’d never felt any sort of budding crush or possible romantic interest towards… anyone. Hell, he wasn’t entirely certain what it would even feel like. Was that normal? Suddenly he felt very self conscious and uncomfortable, and the food didn’t taste as good as it had moments before.

Later that night he was sitting on his bed with his book of dragons open in front of him. He was flicking one corner of the page, eyes on the block of text, but not reading a single word.

“You’ve been staring at that same page for thirty minutes now,” Bill stated, and Charlie lifted his head to see his brother watching him from where he sat on the edge of his own bed. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh. No, just…” Charlie trailed off in thought, staring at the floor for a moment. “You’ve dated girls, right?”

Bill arched an eyebrow, leaning down to untie his shoes. “Sure, a few.”

“When did you do it the first time?”

“Hm,” Bill sat straighter, dropping his shoes next to his bed. “I think I asked a girl out first when I was thirteen.”

“That’s a normal age to start dating then?”

“I suppose,” Bill said with a shrug. “I think it’s different for anyone.”

Charlie worried his lip between his teeth. “I’m gonna be fifteen in a few months. I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

Bill was quiet for half a moment before speaking. “Do you want one?”

Charlie gave him a blank look. “Not really,” he admitted, then furrowed his brow and stared at the page in his book again. “I’ve never wanted a girlfriend.”

Another drawn silence before Bill stood up from his bed. He walked over to Charlie’s bed and sat next to him, putting a hand on his back. The sudden intensity in his eyes made Charlie feel a little on the spot, and he gaped at the older teen as he spoke in a gentle, understanding voice.

“Do you want a boyfriend?”

Charlie tilted his head, baffled, staring at Bill like he was insane. “Not really, William, no.” He sat straight, holding his hands out in front of him. “I don’t want to date anyone, girl or boy!” He motioned down at his book. “I just wanna read about dragons!”

Bill had a curious, contemplative look in his eyes as he glanced between Charlie and the book. Then he hummed, standing up. “Well, don’t let mum make you feel bad, okay? You can date, or not date, in your own time.”

“I don’t have to date Tonks, do I?” Charlie asked warily. “She’s a pal, it would be like dating my sister.”

“No, you don’t have to date Tonks,” Bill reassured, and Charlie sighed, his shoulders sagging.

“Thank Merlin.”

“You should get to bed already,” Bill chided. “You don’t want to be tired when you go to the Muggle festival.”

Spirits rejuvenated and once again excited to spend time with Tonks and her family, Charlie scrambled to get himself ready for bed, ensuring that his dragon book was comfortably next to him on the mattress before going to sleep.

* * *

Charlie pretty much forgot about the discomfort he felt when his mother pushed him in regards to having a girlfriend. The festival he went to with Tonks was fun, and he made sure to pick up a few gifts for his siblings. He grabbed something extra for Bill as thanks for covering for him, considering the fact he hadn’t actually been studying. He’d been too distracted by his dragons, but that was hardly his fault.

One could even blame Bill since he was the one who bought the book for him. Charlie wasn’t going to say that, though.

A few months passed, Charlie was striding through the school hall with Tonks at his side. She’d somehow managed to convince him to walk her down to the dungeons where their potions class was held, because she had a late essay she needed to turn in to Professor Snape. Charlie didn’t mind going with her. His classes were done for the day, and it was going to be dinner soon anyway. This was the perfect chance to bond with their grumpy potions professor!

“He’ll absolutely love having us,” Tonks decided with a dramatic half bow, and Charlie snickered against his arm, disguising it as a cough.

Charlie let Tonks strut into the classroom ahead of him, noting the way her steps faltered halfway into the room. She looked around, sniffing, and her pink hair paled into a pastel.

“Whoa, what’s that smell? It never smells this nice in here!”

“What?” Charlie questioned, stepping up so he was standing beside the Hufflepuff. He sniffed the air, but all he could catch was the usual musky scent of the dungeons. “I don’t smell anything.”

“You’re joking!” Tonks gaped at him before looking around curiously. “It’s like chocolate, ink, and rain all mixed into one! It also smells like… trees, I think? It smells like the forest! The forest and chocolate!” She wrinkled her nose a little, “Oh, and an after-scent of wet fur.” She set her hands on her hips, looking at Charlie. “Not entirely unpleasant, though.”

“I don’t smell that at all,” Charlie stated, furrowing his brow.

“Miss Tonks,” Snape greeted without enthusiasm as he entered the room from a different door, looking about as excited as he sounded. “And Prefect Weasley. To what do I owe the honor?”

“You know Professor, with that much sarcasm —”

“Unless you want detention, Miss Tonks, I would avoid finishing that sentence,” Snape warned, leering at the duo. “Why are you here when you don’t have classes?”

“I’m turning in my essay,” Tonks explained, handing the parchment to their teacher. “I  _ told  _ you I was almost done.”

“Regardless, I will be marking down for it’s lateness,” Snape decided, and Tonks made a face at him when he turned away.

“What’s that smell, anyway?” She inquired.

“The sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins just finished a class. I was showing them Amortentia.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that,” Charlie blurted. “It’s the most powerful love potion in the wizarding world.”

“Is that why it smells so good?” Tonks questioned, eyes glowing.

Snape didn’t look very excited about being asked a question, especially when he didn’t technically have a class, but he seemed to reluctantly decide to answer. “Amortentia has a specific smell to each individual, depending on what attracts them most.”

“I smell chocolate, ink and wet fur!” Tonks announced, and Snape made a face.

“Congratulations.”

“I don’t smell anything,” Charlie said.

Snape eyed him for a silent moment that dragged on just long enough to make Charlie feel nervous. “Interesting.” He said finally, and Charlie felt a knot form in his throat.

“Is… is that strange?”

“Quite unusual,” Snape said as he turned. “You’re the first I’ve encountered who didn’t smell anything. Perhaps something’s wrong with you.”

Charlie felt light headed as the color drained from his face. Tonks was quick to defend.

“What do you smell, Professor?”

Snape glowered at her. “If you’re finished down here, I believe the two of you are expected in the library for silent studying. You do have OWL exams to prepare for. It would be a shame if you didn’t pass.”

Tonks opened her mouth to say something else, probably something that would have landed her in detention. Charlie grabbed her arm before she could, dragging her backwards towards the door.

“Thanks, Professor! We’ll see you at dinner!”

“What are you doing?” Tonks demanded as Charlie pulled her down the hall. “He was being such a git!”

“Can you do me a favor?” Charlie asked, and Tonks paused before nodding. “I need you to make a distraction to get Snape out of the room.”

“What for?”

“I… want to check something.”

Tonks shrugged. “Sure, I don’t mind.” She pointed to a nearby alcove in the wall. “Hide in there until the coast is clear. We’ll rendezvous in the library later.” She stared at Charlie for a moment longer before furrowing her brow. “Are you okay?”

“What? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just look upset,” Tonks said. “Hey, don’t listen to what he said. There’s nothing  _ wrong  _ with you.”

Charlie stared at the toes of his shoes silently. “Amortentia is the strongest love potion in the world. What does it mean when I can’t smell anything?”

Tonks shrugged again, looking puzzled. “Maybe he brewed it wrong?”

Charlie didn’t know about that.

He slipped into the little alcove and ducked down. He didn’t know what Tonks did to get Snape out of the room, but after a moment he saw the man whizz past. Charlie didn’t wait before slipping into the hall and jogging back into the classroom. He quickly located a glass bottle and scrambled over to the cauldron where the Amortentia was sitting.

Charlie filled the glass bottle before corking it and hiding it in his robes, leaving the classroom and getting back to the main hall before Snape returned. He stopped walking abruptly, staring at the stone beneath his shoes as his mind wandered. Tonks would be waiting for him in the library, but… he suddenly wanted to be alone. Just to think.

Charlie located a good spot beside Black Lake to sit, putting his back against a tree and staring out over the water. He glanced around to ensure no one was there before pulling the glass bottle from his robes. The Amortentia was a thick liquid that had a pearly white sheen to it. It swirled around in the vial, catching the sunlight. It was very pretty, Charlie decided, and definitely looked like a love potion.

He uncorked it, bringing it up to his face to sniff. Still nothing. He was suddenly thrust back to the uncomfortable conversation he’d had with his mother before the year had started. The one about dating, and how Charlie just… didn’t have those kinds of feelings for people. Not girls, not boys. Not anyone.

Charlie had never felt so alone and out of place. How could he have gone so many years not even realizing there was something off about himself? He never really did understand the hype of romance or sex. He never understood it when his friends waxed poetic about a crush. He never saw the appeal of snogging someone in a dark corner. He just… didn’t get it, but the longer he thought about it, the more unhappy he felt.

Charlie didn’t want to date, he didn’t want romance, he didn’t want to have sex with anyone. He didn’t want to kiss anyone, or do any of that stuff. Did… did that mean there was something wrong with him? Did that make him broken?

He lost track of time sitting there. Charlie thought hard about it, holding the glass bottle tightly between his hands. Maybe it could help him. Maybe if he drank it, then he’d feel what other people felt. He’d feel more enthusiastic about romance and sex like everyone else. He’d be able to make that kind of connection; he knew it was what his mother wanted for him.

Charlie went to uncork the bottle again, feeling a heavy, painful numbness in his limbs. His fingers were tight around the top of the vial before he heard footsteps, eyes snapping wider when he heard a familiar voice.

“I thought I might find you down here.”

Charlie quickly hid the bottle in his sleeve before lifting his head. Bill was walking towards him, hands in his pockets. His eyes were sharp and a little too intense as they stayed locked on CHarlie, who felt unexpectedly ashamed and embarrassed. He turned his head to break eye contact with his brother, rubbing his clammy palms against his knees.

“What are you doing down here?”

“I could ask the same thing,” Bill noted as he reached Charlie’s side. “Nymphadora tracked me down. She said you were supposed to meet her in the library but never showed. She got worried because you weren’t looking too great, but she couldn’t find you, so she asked me to look.”

Charlie kept his eyes on the water. “You better not let her hear you calling her that,” he warned, completely avoiding the rest of Bill’s explanation.

The seventh year sat down beside Charlie without saying much, and for a moment they shared a companionable, only mostly uncomfortable silence. Charlie felt a bundle of emotions go through him as he tried to swallow down the knot in his throat. It took him time to find the right words, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet.

“I think there’s something wrong with me,” he practically whispered.

“What makes you say that?” Bill asked.

Charlie rubbed his palms harder against his lifted knees, his shoulders hunching. “I just… I don’t  _ feel  _ like normal people do. I don’t feel… interested in people. I don’t want to ask people out, or kiss people, or… other stuff. Everyone feels that way, though. It’s normal, and I’m not, because I just don’t feel any of that, and I don’t know why.” The knot in his throat seemed to grow, and he choked on it for a moment before managing to swallow around it. “I think I’m broken.”

“Charlie —”

“But maybe I can fix myself,” Charlie interrupted without even realizing Bill had started to speak. He pulled the glass bottle from his sleeve, cradling it in his hands like it was priceless. “Amortentia is the strongest love potion in the  _ world.  _ Maybe if I drink it, it’ll fix me, and I’ll feel all the same attraction everyone else does!”

“Where did you get that?” Bill demanded in a serious voice, grabbing Charlie by the wrist. “Give me that.”

“What? No! Bill this is gonna make me normal, I need it!”

“Love potions are  _ dangerous, _ you should not be playing around with them!”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand!” Charlie said, holding the bottle out to the side to keep it away from Bill. “You’re normal! You don’t get it!”

“Charlie!” Bill seemed to give up on snatching away the potion, turning to Charlie and grabbing his shoulders. “There’s nothing  _ wrong  _ with you!”

“How would you know?!”

“Because you’re my brother,” Bill said in exasperation. “Listen… I thought about it a lot after we talked, and I did a bit of reading. Have you ever heard of something called asexuality?”

Charlie felt puzzled, shaking his head. “No?”

“Asexuality is when someone doesn’t experience sexual desire. There’s also something called aromanticism. That’s when you don’t experience any romantic desires.” He paused, letting the information sink in before speaking again. “Charlie you’re not  _ broken,  _ you’re just aroace, and you’re not the only one.”

Charlie parted his lips to speak, but his words were caught on his tongue. He had to fight with them before they came out. “I can’t smell anything… the Amortentia smells like nothing to me.”

“Because Amortentia is a love potion that triggers the romantic and sexual parts of someone, but you don’t experience any of those desires anyway.”

Charlie looked down at the bottle in his hand. “So… it wouldn’t work on me?”

“No, it probably would,” Bill admitted, “but it would be a synthetic attraction. It wouldn’t be real, it wouldn’t “fix” you, and it would eventually wear off.” Charlie deflated, his shoulder sinking. Bill squeezed his shoulders. “Not everyone feels the same things. Not feeling any sort of attraction towards people is completely normal.”

“But… Professor Snape said there might be something wrong with me.”

“You’re going to listen to him over me?” Bill asked, and Charlie blanched.

He had a point…

“You just need to read up on it a little. I can’t even imagine how scary it must be, but I’m right here. I’ll help you however I can. I already read a ton about it, I can bring you magazines and books that explain it better than I could. You  _ need  _ to know that it’s normal. You  _ need  _ to know that you do not need to be fixed, because you are not broken.” Charlie’s eyes were stinging, his nose getting tight. “You don’t have to have sex with someone or make a romantic connection with them in order to love someone. You love mom and dad, don’t you? You love Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. You love Tonks and your other friends, and you love dragons. All of that, the platonic and familial love you feel, is just as powerful as romantic love, and just as important. I think it’s  _ more  _ important. You love what matters, Charlie.”

He held his hand out. Charlie stared at it before hesitantly placing the glass bottle against Bill’s palm. Bill wrapped his fingers around it before slowly getting to his feet. Charlie watched him walk to the edge of the lake, reeling his arm back before swinging it forward. He threw the bottle hard, and Charlie watched as it soared out over the lake, finally hitting the water with a thunk before disappearing.

Bill turned back to him with a firm look on his face. “There’s not a  _ damn  _ thing wrong with you.”

Tears welled up in Charlie’s eyes. Bill walked back over to him and crouched down, pulling Charlie into a tight embrace. The younger Gryffindor cried silently. The only noise coming from him were the sniffles. He clung to Bill, hugging him back.

“Thank you,” he croaked, and Bill pet a hand through his red hair.

“I know it’ll be hard to get around this, but I’ll be here to support you no matter what. You're tough, Charlie, and you’re brave. You’re plenty brave enough to live your truth.”

Charlie pulled away from Bill, rubbing his eyes and nodding. Bill stood up, helping Charlie to his feet.

“Come on. It’ll be dark soon, and you don’t want to miss dinner. Tonks is worried about you.”

“Okay,” Charlie agreed, following at Bill’s side as they both started towards Hogwarts. Charlie gave his brother a grin. “I’m telling her you called her Nymphadora, by the way.”

Bill paled, and Charlie laughed in amusement.

* * *

Bill was nineteen when Charlie finally graduated Hogwarts. He was starting work for Gringotts then, but he still took time off to come home to celebrate with his family. In about a week, he’d be leaving the country again, and Charlie would be going with him.

It was an exciting new chapter in Charlie’s life. He’d been accepted into the Romanian Dragon Reservation, and would be following his dream, studying towards becoming a Dragonologist. Since Bill’s work was in the same direction, he would be accompanying his seventeen year old brother until they reached his destination. Charlie was especially excited about the fact they’d be so much closer. Within apparating distance. They could get together for lunch and swap work stories every week.

They would both be too far from home to visit their family very often, which Charlie was a bit anxious about — he was really gonna miss his little siblings and his parents. That was okay though. He’d see them again on holidays or something.

Molly prepared an extravagant spread to celebrate her son’s graduation, and they were accompanied that night by Tonks and her parents. Charlie didn’t know if his mother had invited him because she still held the ridiculous notion that Charlie and Tonks could somehow enter a romantic relationship, but by then Charlie didn’t care; neither did Tonks. They’d discussed it a few times since Charlie had come to terms with his sexuality, and they thought it was hilarious.

“I have no intention of dating or marrying anyone,” Tonks had explained, waving a hand. “I’m joining the Ministry as an Auror and focusing on my career.”

“Oh, so you’re never gonna get married?” Charlie had questioned, and Tonks hummed, holding her chin.

“I don’t know, I might. I’ll tell you though, it would have to be someone  _ really  _ special. Someone with a good sense of humor, and intelligent, and kind.”

“It would have to be someone who can deal with how absurd you are,” Charlie had said, hand over his heart. “I wish him luck.”

Tonks aimed a fist at him, and Charlie swerved out of the way in a fit of giggles.

That night after finishing desert, Charlie stood in the front yard waving the Tonks family goodbye, yelling to his friend that he would write to her, so she better write him back. Bill stood beside him, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. When the trio had disappeared, he turned to Charlie.

“I wanted to give this to you before we left,” he said, holding out a tiny velvet bag.

Charlie eagerly took it, eyes glowing. “Is it a piece of treasure? From work?”

“No. Why would I give you that? Most of the treasure from work is cursed. That would make me a horrible brother.”

“Well I’d forgive you,” Charlie promised, tugging open the drawstring and dumping a ring onto his palm. It was black and somewhat metallic, the sun catching on its smooth surface and glowing. “Oh, it’s cool,” Charlie decided, holding it up to admire it against the setting sun before meeting Bill’s eye. “What’s it for?”

“It’s called hematite,” Bill explained. “I read in a Muggle magazine a few weeks back, some people from the ace community will wear a black ring on the middle finger of their right hand,” he pointed to his own hand, “as a form of solidarity and pride, you know?”

Charlie lowered the ring and his eyes. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, it’s more of a Muggle tradition, but I thought it might be appropriate.” He put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder, squeezing it. “I know you’re still just figuring yourself out, and you haven’t talked to mum about it. You’re leaving home and starting to work, and you’re still pretty young. I’m gonna be close by, but for the times you can’t get away to talk to me, you can have that. Look at it and remember that you’re not broken, you know?”

Charlie smiled, slipping the ring onto the proper finger, twisting it around thoughtfully. “Thanks.” He lifted his head to look at Bill. “Also you really need to show me where you find all these magazines, because I can’t find good information anywhere!”

“Ah, Charlie,” Bill wound an arm around his brother’s shoulders, turning him back towards the Burrow. “A good Cursebreaker needs to know how to do his research. I don’t mind sharing a few of my secrets to my little brother.”

“Your  _ favorite  _ brother,” Charlie made sure to specify, and Bill rolled his eyes. “See? You won't even deny it. Percy, I  _ told you _ I was his favorite!”

“You’re gonna start a fight,” Bill warned, but didn’t fight it when Charlie pulled out of his arm and scrambled into the house to pick on their brother.

Bill shook his head at Charlie’s antics, following him into the house and pulling the door closed behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> Even though it's pride month, I see so little representation and pride for those of us on the Ace and Aro spectrums. For some ridiculous reason, there's still controversy regarding ace and aro folk even belonging in the community, but we're not going to discuss that. I'm simply going to state that yeah, they do belong in the community. I belong in the community. I'm not aromantic, but I am certainly asexual, and I've felt so, so isolated, everywhere I turn.
> 
> Whether it's in the community or out of it, I've never once felt comfortable enough to come out, accept online where no one really knows me. I'm too scared. I don't know how people in real life would respond, if they would hate me or isolate me further, claim I was broken and just needed to find someone to sleep with to fix myself. I'm even scared of talking to LGBTQ people, because even gay, lesbian, and bi folk have some tendency to alienate ace people like me.
> 
> I know not everyone is like that, but it's scary. I haven't felt very represented or proud of myself this month, but I really want to be. I want to be proud, I want to see my orientation represented and accepted like everyone else. I don't want any other ace or aro people to feel so lonely and broken, because we're not. We're not broken. We're whole without needing anything else. All we need to do is accept ourselves.
> 
> Charlie Weasley being aroace is so, so important to me. Sometimes I see people giving him OC love interests, making him gay, shipping him with Tonks, and that's fine, people can do what they want, but it truly hurts. You can write a compelling story without making a character gay or giving him a straight love interest. There are more forms of love than sexual or romantic, and those are just as important to explore. Don't we deserve it? Ace and aro people deserve to recognize themselves in popular media, just as much as gay, lesbian, bi, or trans folk do.
> 
> There's nothing wrong with us, and there's nothing wrong with Charlie.
> 
> And while I'm here, Sirius Orion Black is another proud aroace from the Harry Potter series, and Neville Longbottom is a proud asexual (I see him getting married, he's not aro, but he's definitely asexual).
> 
> And that's that on that. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you learn to be as proud of yourself as Bill is of Charlie, and Charlie is of himself.
> 
> \- Nico


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